One of the more hilarious (and largely overlooked) aspects of the UFC’s response to the recent Chael Sonnen steroid fiasco was that whenever anybody asked Dana White about drug testing in MMA he basically threw his hands up and said the company couldn’t have anything to do with it, because “The Government” is in charge of that. For example, when White discussed the topic with Ariel Helwani before UFC 119 he took on a wide-eyed reverence that was so un-Dana it was clear he was just sticking to the company-approved talking points: “Everybody has this belief that, ‘Oh, Dana White has the commissions in (his pocket).’ Listen, the commission doesn’t give a shit what I think — what I think, what I say, nothing,” White said. “You’re dealing with the government, OK? That’s like thinking Dana White can tell the IRS what to do. It’s never gonna happen.”

Now, either DW is the only millionaire businessman in America who thinks “The Government” is doing a great job regulating his industry … or he’s bullshitting us. Obviously, his equating state athletic commissions with the IRS is laughable, but the assertion that a billion dollar company like the UFC couldn’t possibly get involved with “The Government” is also pretty clearly not true. In fact, according to reports out this week, Zuffa, LLC would very much like to take an active role in helping New York state pick its next governor, and this is certainly not the first time the UFC has dipped into its pockets to help sway “The Government” to its way of thinking.

You’ll recall that two years ago, the UFC hired a powerful firm of lobbyists to help “educate” Congress about MMA … and also apparently to try to avoid the establishment of a national boxing commission which would be overseen by the Commerce Department. Such an entity could potentially regulate the way fighter contracts are structured, and it’s pretty easy to see why Zuffa wouldn’t want that to happen. It’s also a given that a federally controlled fight commission could greatly impact how drug testing is handled in combat sports and it doesn’t take a huge logical jump to read between the lines about how promoters secretly feel about that, either.

Now the New York Post brings us news that Zuffa has dropped a cool $75,000 into the coffers of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, a Democratic candidate to replace outgoing pro-MMA governor David Patterson. Cuomo is running against Republican Carl Paladino, a batshit crazy Tea Party-type and keyboard racist who has already said he has “reservations about cage fighting,” according to the Post. Cuomo has refused to take a stand on how he feels about legalizing MMA in the Empire State, but if the UFC is contributing to his campaign, perhaps it knows something we don’t. Not that Zuffa could ever influence “The Government” or anything …

Except that’s exactly what it appeared to do in Illinois, where the Chicago Sun Times and Huffington Post detail how “a classic Illinois cocktail of political clout and campaign cash led to (MMA’s) legalization.” According to the Sun Times, the UFC “made a total of $30,100 in campaign contributions to 23 state officeholders” in Illinois and former governor (and crazy person of a totally different variety) Rod Blagojevich writes in a recently published book that he “signed the legislation legalizing mixed martial arts to score points with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s brother, Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel, the real-life model for the character Ari Gold in the HBO series ‘Entourage.’” Ari Emanuel reportedly owns a talent agency which lists Zuffa as one of its clients.

UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta are also – as billionaires often are – pretty into the campaign contribution scene. Check out a list of some of their donations right here. From the looks of it, they’re both pretty high on Utah Senator Orrin Hatch (the politician reportedly chiefly responsible for deregulating the dietary supplement industry) and Nevada Senator John Ensign, a probable Republican presidential hopeful in 2012.

And all of that is to say nothing of what’s going on in Canada, where the lobbyists Zuffa hired to promote MMA in Ontario are now reportedly advertising a $250-a-ticket fundraiser for the provincial Premier who OK’ed the sport’s sanctioning there, prompting an investigation.

So, what’s this all mean? Well, obviously the UFC isn’t doing anything wrong by contributing to the political campaigns of people it thinks will help further its agenda. Nevertheless it should make you smile the next time you hear Dana White referring to state athletic commissions as “The Government” and acting like the UFC couldn’t possibly do anything to sway the way they oversee MMA.

Basically, Zuffa wants to play both sides of the fence here. When the topic is drug testing the UFC wants us to believe it would love to clean up the sport, but is totally powerless to do anything about it. However, when the topic is, say, opening up the lucrative markets of NYC, Chicago and Toronto to MMA, Zuffa isn’t afraid to whip out the wallet and get its hands plenty dirty. It doesn’t seem like both things can be true.

Cagepotato Comments

Showing 1-25 of comments

And for the record, contrary to all of the fingers that have been pointed at me, I haven't banned anyone. There wouldn't be anyone left if we actually started looking at TOS violations.
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oh well fuckin waaaaaaaaaaa.

Charming Charlie- October 7, 2010 at 10:54 pm

Comments Cliff Notes:

1. Bro, we'd rather Cage Potato sell out and keep this kind of reporting to a minimum in order to get more JDog exclusive photos of events we already see everywhere else.

2. Durr, poly-tick make Durr head hurt!

3. Good job on providing insight into some of the behind-the-scenes of what's going on in the MMA industry. I hope to see more muckraking as time goes on; it's a universal good.

steampunk22- October 7, 2010 at 5:06 pm

Sometimes I can't help but feel its a little tense around here.

@AlmostNorth

Pretty sure you hit the nail on the head with that one. Must be nice to literally be that rich. You know, if you go for that extravagantly wealthy sort of thing.

Mike Russell- October 7, 2010 at 4:21 pm

And for the record, contrary to all of the fingers that have been pointed at me, I haven't banned anyone. There wouldn't be anyone left if we actually started looking at TOS violations.

Mike Russell- October 7, 2010 at 4:15 pm

You're confused, kid. Nobody ever said we were banned because of comments. I did say that some fighters won't deal with us because of articles that have been written about them here and others have been turned off of working with us again due to shitty comments left by our members following interviews and stories we did on them.See ReX's story about Jessica Pene as an example. ;)

Almost North- October 7, 2010 at 3:12 pm

Much like Mark Cuban, they can afford to be the only guys in the room not wearing ties

Dan The Viking- October 7, 2010 at 3:06 pm

Dana and Lorenzo are rich? Why cant they afford ties?

Fried Taco- October 7, 2010 at 3:03 pm

@RwilsonR

I'm definitely not a Wereguido.

I just wanted to say that I'm a nerd, and I'm here tonight to stand up for the rights of other nerds. I mean uh, all our lives we've been laughed at and made to feel inferior. And tonight, those bastards, they trashed our house. Why? Cause we're smart? Cause we look different? Well, we're not. I'm a nerd, and uh, I'm pretty proud of it.

jyveturkey- October 7, 2010 at 2:01 pm

I love how everyone thinks they're an expert on the subject. I think everyone can agree Dana consistently lies his ass off. Whatever, is what it is. I don't think this story is far fetched at all and I hope it lands right in Dana's lap. I'm down for anything that may in any amount help start the steroid/non-steroid divisions.

itsgalf- October 7, 2010 at 1:58 pm

you got one thing right about the NY thing: If you want a governor you'll be able to buy, go with the Democrat candidate.

RwilsonR- October 7, 2010 at 1:51 pm

LOL Steampunk!

Would that certain someone be the same one who banned you?

steampunk22- October 7, 2010 at 1:19 pm

@jdog

ditto. I was liking the photos! Nice work btw

I feel like maybe someone on here once blamed the commenters on CP for being the reason there was no press pass. Seems a little silly at this particular juncture...

Just sayin. ;)

Mikey- October 7, 2010 at 1:10 pm

This is how the government works. All the time. What's the big fucking deal?

RwilsonR- October 7, 2010 at 1:06 pm

@ Fried Taco - more like Locutus of Borg without the facial implants.... umm... I mean, I have no idea what you're talking about... NERD!!!

I hope for the sake of the whole CP nation that this one stays under the UFC's highly tuned radar. I think everyone was liking the exclusive photos that the press creds brought!

ccman- October 7, 2010 at 11:48 am

@ Agent Smith The UFC tests in the UK because they do not have a regulating body, and to not do so would look very bad. they also tested in Japan, and the Abu Dabi fights. For the company that fought to get the sport regulated to not do so would be a PR nightmare, and they sure are not giving up those markets.

And in your own example, then Mazzagotti and cecil peoples should be unemployed in all states since the UFC has lobbied to not use them, and has publically fought to have them removed. Yet both still work, both still work UFC events. And doing that would not cost a state a nickle, the extra testing would cost a fortune.

agentsmith- October 7, 2010 at 11:39 am

The bottom line is this: if Dana White REALLY wanted to fight PED use in MMA, no one in the entire industry has more influence to make it happen. If he started talking publicly about how the AC's aren't doing enough, they should start blood testing, and this and that, that would draw A LOT of public attention and heat on the AC's. Not to mention Zuffa's close ties with the NSAC, plus their lobbying power.

Plus, Zuffa could start doing extra testing themselves if they really wanted to, and it's not like they haven't before... for example, Chris Leben was caught by the UFC's own testing because that fight was in the UK.

But instead he's going with the old "it's out of my hands" cop-out, which basically tells us that he's not interested in tightening up the testing, probably because he's afraid of how many guys would get popped.

steampunk22- October 7, 2010 at 11:37 am

Geez, I hope no one posts anything critical or smarmy about this post.

Ah hell, just single me out now it will save time.

Also, LMAO at the Jump To Conclusions Mat reference. Now where the hell is my red stapler......

Biffmiester- October 7, 2010 at 11:36 am

Hey, at least the Huffington Post's article is somewhat corroborated with the Chicago Sun Times article... so that references works out. Now as for the NY Post... not knocking the specific article, but I wouldn't wipe my ass with that paper even if I had bubbleguts and the mudbutt on a sunday morning while kayaking in a gator-filled lake.

Bet $10 that J-Dog has a problem getting his press pass to the next UFC event, and that CP's stand in the next Expo is gonna be taken over by jumprope man.

munche- October 7, 2010 at 11:34 am

You might be on to something here. I'm going to make some campaign contributions, then brag to all my buddies that I have that guy in my pocket.

I donate some cash, a few weeks later I call him up...."hey, asshole. Remember me? I donated money to your campaign. Now it's time for you to make good on that. You owe me, you cocksucker. I BOUGHT YOU. I PAID FOR YOU!!!!!!"

Then Senator so and so goes down and changes the laws to get me faster internet in my city.

Because that's how it works, right?

ccman- October 7, 2010 at 11:33 am

Fair enough Smith, but you edited your original post (in fairness extended it) and i was only replying to the first 2 paragraphs. the rest was not available to respond to.

ccman- October 7, 2010 at 11:31 am

@ intercept, thats because you have never been in politics. the fine line you see is a 20 year prison sentence for a politician.

In the words of the first Muslim in Congress "my goal for my first term is to not accidentally go to prison"

See the exiting CSAC 2 years ago(questioning self on timeline) for a great example.

intercept440- October 7, 2010 at 11:25 am

come on ... for reals...?
i fail to see the parralells between a supporting a politicain , and having Clout to influence a state agency who regulates athletics...

jimbonics- October 7, 2010 at 11:22 am

Well, at least Frank Mir now knows where his KOTN bonus went.

agentsmith- October 7, 2010 at 11:22 am

@ ccman:

Of course, but that's not what you implied earlier. The "government" legalizes the sport based on the idea of a standardized and accepted ruleset like the Unified Rules, but they do not develop those rulesets, nor come up with other rules such as for PED testing. So it's not a case of the AC's merely enforcing the rules that the government makes... the government entrusts the AC's to regulate the sport based on faith in the rules that the AC's have already developed themselves, and going forward the AC's are free to change and develop new rules as they see fit.

Dojima- October 7, 2010 at 11:19 am

dang, CP... more articles like this and Im gonna have to go to Bloody Elbow for my professional mma coverage...This sounds like a drop-out junior college student watched Glenn Beck once and equated it to the UFC. (and that Fanpost was promoted to the front page)

rob_the_razor- October 7, 2010 at 11:19 am

Fuck the douche that wrote this article. I'm so sick of CP talking politics. Paladino is crazy but Cuomo isn't? And he is crazy because he got up in a reporters shit for stalking his daughter. Whoever wrote this needs their dick knocked in the dirt!

Fried Taco- October 7, 2010 at 11:17 am

I think Dana looks like Caption Jean-Luc Picard in that photo.

Almost North- October 7, 2010 at 11:17 am

I like that idea.

Alternatively we could just send all the samples to France and tell them they are from Lance Armstrong. They would run every possible test for free within about 18 seconds of getting the material.

dranokills- October 7, 2010 at 11:14 am

is it me or does Dana White look just like Dr. Evil?
"come to the UFC or I will blast you with my.... "Death" "Star".

agentsmith- October 7, 2010 at 11:13 am

@ Almost North:

A solution for that would be to do full blood testing on only the championship matches for the smaller shows, or something along those lines. For the big boys like the UFC, they can do the same plus random blood testing for non-champ matches, on top of the standard piss testing for everyone.

ccman- October 7, 2010 at 11:12 am

Half wrong, since senates offer bills regulating MMA under the condition of existing under the unified rules. Governor has to sign it, and commission executes them.

And those bills sometimes get changed before brought into law by eliminating things like elbows to downed opponents, ect. though generally it is the unified to become sanctioned.

Almost North- October 7, 2010 at 11:12 am

Thanks Burrito, I totally get it now. I think the best possible solution here would be drug tests run by the atheltic commissions at the expense of the promotions, but that is going to really ding some of the smaller shows.

That being said its hard to be a fan of MMA and not hate the commissions and their seemingly random arbitrary decision making process.

As for whether fights are fixed....of course some of them are. It happened in the NBA for christ sakes, and nobody there is struggling to feed their family like so many MMA fighters.

agentsmith- October 7, 2010 at 11:09 am

@ccman:
"they do not make the rules (state senates usually) just enforce them."

Wrong. At least in this case. The state senates do not decide the rules under which MMA operates, they merely decide whether or not it should be legal. The rules are ENTIRELY under the athletic commission's domain, and in fact that's exactly their reason for existence.

But you are right in saying that they probably don't ask for or want Dana White's opinion. Like the vast majority of government agencies, they resist change... not only because that would require extra effort, but because it would imply that there's something wrong with the way they currently operate, and they are loath to admit that there might be a problem even when it's staring everyone in the face.

However, it is interesting that the white many other commissions are in the process of tightening up their PED testing, the NSAC doesn't seem to be interested. Which obviously suits Dana White just fine. They seem to have an unspoken agreement that they are both afraid of what they might find, so it's better to just not look.

danomite- October 7, 2010 at 11:05 am

i'm not talking about trying to influence the commissions secretly with some kind of shady back room deal. I'm talking about having a hearing, going before them and stating your case for better drug testing programs. I'm pretty sure Doc Hamilton just did that same thing with the scoring system that he is trying to get changed. If Dana White really wanted to, all he would have to do is get Travis Tygart up there to explain to the commissions how much of a joke the current drug testing program is and how easy and cheap it would be to fix.

the point of the article is that even if Dana White cares about getting steroids out of MMA, he cares about money much more and to realize how much of a joke it is every time he is telling us that he's powerless to change things.

pooflinger- October 7, 2010 at 11:04 am

@ Ksgbobo

Why don't you go ahead and eat a big pile of AIDs infected poo.

Morningwood- October 7, 2010 at 11:03 am

@ksgbobo

yes, any fight that a diaz, carwin, any UK fighter wins is fixed.

themass- October 7, 2010 at 11:02 am

Worst thing I've ever read on CP. I made an account to request my 3 minutes of time back.

ksgbobo- October 7, 2010 at 11:00 am

Seriously...who uses the Huffington Post as a source!

Anyways, this brings up another question. Are the fights fixed or are at least some of them fixed? Think about it.

El Famous Burrito- October 7, 2010 at 10:57 am

@Almost North

I'm not mad at anything (except soggy french fries when I order to-go).

My point was there's a big difference in making a contribution to the campaign of someone running for office (presumably to curry favor once he's elected) and telling the state that they should start drug-testing combat sports athletes at their own expense.

The contribution is a long-term investment that you hope pays off if your guy wins, and he actually gives a crap about your cause.

Telling the state that they should be spending their limited amount of money on this not-pressing concern is futile.

The "nerds and wereguidos" line was just a silly way of saying we are kind of a niche market and big-time politicians don't really care much what we think.

Hope that helps.

Wereguido.

MMA Nerdery- October 7, 2010 at 10:57 am

Was this article ghost-written by KidNate and Jonathan Snowball? this is terrible.

ktronics- October 7, 2010 at 10:57 am

@ RwilsonR - OH SNAP

Gardeninja- October 7, 2010 at 10:56 am

I love it when you use the Darth Dana pic...

RwilsonR- October 7, 2010 at 10:53 am

@ ktronics - I thought that they used the Huffington Post as a 'source' in the article was the joke.

pooflinger- October 7, 2010 at 10:52 am

@ Almost North

Dude that has to be one of the best comments ever.....

Anywho, CP you have gone half retard on this one.

Morningwood- October 7, 2010 at 10:51 am

Nice pic of Dana. Makes him look like a junior Cone Head!

ktronics- October 7, 2010 at 10:49 am

and all this bitching is taking away from what I read the comments section for, the jokes! COME ON TEAM.

RwilsonR- October 7, 2010 at 10:49 am

@ dano - to put it simply, yes, there is a big difference. If you want the easy answer as to why - because one is legal, and the other is not. If you want a more philosophical answer as to the reasoning behind that situation, that is fair, but it would take quite a bit longer to qualify, and doesn't really matter in this context given the first easy answer.

ktronics- October 7, 2010 at 10:48 am

Or... the UFC could test its own fighters to go along with the commission tests. Not sure what everyone is up in arms about with this post. Thought it was a good read..

ccman- October 7, 2010 at 10:48 am

@ danomite - it is illegal for contributors after an election to 'ask for favors'.... it is not to find candidates that support what you support and contribute.

the article acts as though they are handing people lists of people for the commissions in exchange for money. Yes there is a MONSTER difference.

RwilsonR- October 7, 2010 at 10:46 am

LOL @ Almost North and the 'jump to conclusions' mat!!!

As for the article, there is a big difference between lobbying to get your sport legalized, supporting candidates who support your business, and trying to influence supposedly autonomous regulating bodies. The first two are legal, the second is not.

Of course the UFC 'could' influence the state athletic commissions. As the CSAC showed us, all you need are a few pictures of the commissioner harassing female staffers and you have all the influence you need. And perhaps the UFC does try to influence them subtly behind the scenes. But I guarantee you Dana White wants no part of being seen as influencing, or having influence over the commissions in any way.

Could he? Sure. Should he or does he want to appear to be? Absolutely not. That would bring us back to the days where people constantly questioned whether each and every fight was a work.

Would have been a decent article if it had just pointed us to the NY Post and Illinois quotes, and not to the stupid conclusions that followed.

Almost North- October 7, 2010 at 10:44 am

@Burrito

I have read that about 5 times and I just don't see the point you are trying to make. Are you mad that the state pays for drug testing? Do you not like MMA fans? What does either of those things have to do with this article?

NinjaNerd8- October 7, 2010 at 10:44 am

As much as I tend not to believe a single thing DFW says, I know that trying to influence is not the same as being able to.

Stak40- October 7, 2010 at 10:44 am

Dont think this was a bad article. I think it was a little of a strectch but yet still creative which is what i like about CP. What I have found on CP is that the writers are very bias and that there articles reflect it. I dont necessarily find this to be a bad thing even though i ususally disagree. I do however feel that I dig people who are not afraid to state there opinion and stick by it.

danomite- October 7, 2010 at 10:43 am

@ccman

so in your mind there's a huge difference between asking favors from a guy you help get elected and asking favors from a person who's already been elected?

so basically if dana white wanted to change the way drug tests are done he has every right to fund political campaigns of guys who will make those changes but under no circumstances is he allowed to ask those people to make the changes if they've already been elected? i'm not seeing the difference here.

ccman- October 7, 2010 at 10:40 am

To put into context, DW said and has said, Athletic commissions do not ask his opinion, nor do they want it. they are placed usually by the Governor, and regulate unarmed combat. they do not make the rules (state senates usually) just enforce them. in this respect they are very much like the IRS, who are there to enforce laws, not create them. They both operate outside much supervison or oversight, and are autonomous in their respective areas.

Supporting Politicians in favor of MMA is SMART, policy. And anyway, the Fertitta brothers still make most of their fortunes from Gambling..... I am willing to bet you could find numerous topics they have choosen to support and candidates that support them.

BAD ARTICLE

El Famous Burrito- October 7, 2010 at 10:39 am

Giving 75 grand to a candidate is a lot different than forcing a state to spend an assload of money to drug-test athletes in a sport that only nerds and wereguidos care about.

If you are reading this, you are one or the other. Sorry.

cecils_pupils- October 7, 2010 at 10:37 am

Ouch - just when J-Dog hooks it up and get's CP on Dana's good side and you post this crap. Damn, CP, that's rough right there.

Almost North- October 7, 2010 at 10:33 am

Did you write this story with help from your 'jump to conclusions' mat?

ccman- October 7, 2010 at 10:32 am

There is a huge difference between supporting a candidate and influencing govt. in the respect you imply.